


In Sickness and In Health

by kronette



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: M/M, Season/Series 10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-26
Updated: 2012-10-26
Packaged: 2017-11-17 03:57:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/547369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kronette/pseuds/kronette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>SPOILER NOTE</b>: I use something that's mentioned in Series X "Fathers and Suns" as a jumping off point for the story.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	In Sickness and In Health

_Red Dwarf_ was slowly falling apart around them without hundreds of crew members to take care of her. They were only four – in truth three because Cat could only be relied upon for about 40 minutes of work a day – tasked with staying ahead of the shoddy JMC workmanship. Decks ordinarily ignored now had to be patrolled every few months to check for structural soundness. The engines were well past their expiry date and strange sounds had started permeating the ship whenever they attempted to adjust course. So they stayed the course, kept their fingers crossed, and did what they could.

Rimmer jammed the heel of his hand into his eye, trying to rub the gritty feeling away but only succeeding in making it worse. It didn't help that from his fingertips to his elbows, he was smeared with grease and dirt.

"Here, sir." Kryten handed him a spanner and he tightened the bolt on the gasket that he'd just replaced. He reattached the casing and sealed it.

"Transfer power back through the coupling, Kryten," he instructed tiredly. It was tedious work rerouting power around damaged circuits and sections in order to effect repairs, then testing to make sure the replacement parts worked. With a relieved sigh, he felt the minute vibration of the coupling working and unfolded himself from the floor. He replaced the wall plate and wiped his hands on his trousers.

He groaned softly at the stains he'd just added to his knees. He spread his fingers and glared at his filthy palms. "I think it's seeped into my projection, Kryten," he complained. "I've become a grease monkey." As he glanced over at the mechanoid, he eyed the grease-free, guilt-laden face. "Why do I end up making the repairs? _You're_ meant to obey _my_ orders."

Kryten wrung his hands and began stammering. Rimmer sighed and held up a dirty hand. "Save it. I know Lister gave you special instructions. I've meant to have a word with him."

"But you can't, sir!" Kryten wailed, suddenly finding his voice. "He needs rest most of all."

Rimmer blew out a breath through his pursed lips. Lister had been ill the past few days, which was why _he_ was stuck doing the repairs. _Lister_ was the mechanically inclined technician who actually liked getting dirty. Rimmer would rather eat the conduits than replace them, but the repair schedule couldn't wait. They were months behind and the longer it took, the worse their situation became. Rimmer would not risk losing _Red Dwarf_. "I know he does, you simpering toilet-brush," he snapped, frustrated with the entire situation.

He hated seeing Lister sick. It gutted him to watch Dave lazing around without playing video games or watching the ship's vid. He mostly slept and ate very little. Kryten had given Lister a jab of vitamins just that morning to boost his strength. Rimmer had seen no improvement and was more worried than he would ever let on to Kryten. Dave had only been seriously ill twice before – when his hallucinations had come to life and when he had space mumps. This illness had started as a scratchy throat but worsened within hours. Dave had refused the medi bay, insisting that sleep always did the trick. If Dave wasn't better by morning, Rimmer was hauling his arse down to medi bay himself, even if he had to carry him.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and sent Kryten a sneer to hide his worry. "I'm going to scrub myself from head to toe. We'll start again in the morning." He retrieved his jacket from the trolley and walked back to the lift, dreading the half hour trip it would take to reach their living quarters.

=-=-=-=

Barely able to stand, Rimmer stumbled into their quarters and headed straight for the shower. With a grimace, he pulled the black t-shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. It would be so much easier if he used holographic clothes, but he liked the feel of real ones too much. If he were forced to do repair work much longer, however, he would have to resort to creating holographic clothes. He only had so many things that Cat was willing to take as payment for constructing new outfits for him. Removing shoes, trousers and underwear in rapid succession, he stepped under the warm spray and groaned. Tense muscles started to relax immediately and he felt himself slump forward, forehead resting on the tile wall.

His other frustration was that Dave would not sleep in their bed while he was sick. No matter how often Rimmer explained that human germs couldn't affect his program, Dave wouldn't take the risk. He slept on that damned couch, huddled under a pile of blankets and shivering with fever. After years of sharing a bed, Rimmer was now incapable of sleeping alone. He'd gotten used to the soft whuffs of Dave's breath against his neck, the arm slung over his waist, the leg tucked between his. The first night that Dave had slept on the couch, Rimmer had gone to S-Deck and completed a full list of repairs. He was a bleary-eyed wreck when he returned to their quarters, but Dave was worse, muttering incoherently and burning with fever.

Rimmer shivered and realized the water was turning cool. Muttering some choice words, he quickly soaped and rinsed himself as best he could, mentally adding the water heater to the list of things to check. The towel was markedly more gray than white after he dried himself off, and his skin itched where grease was drying. Giving in to the inevitable, Rimmer stepped back into the shower and switched himself to soft light. A thin film of greasy gunk immediately spread across the shower floor. He felt his mouth curl in a wry smile – Kryten would think it a present for a day's work well done. The clean-happy mech loved repairing the ship as it gave him a double workload of laundry and scouring the shower stall.

Still soft light, he conjured up holographic pajamas and shuffled into the living area. His eyes immediately went to the dark mass on the couch and his heart lurched. He couldn't attempt to sleep in their bed alone again. It was too cold; too big, without Dave there. He crept around to the front of the couch, the dim light enough to make out Dave mostly sitting up, leaning into the crook of the couch. His neck was bent at an angle that sent a twinge of sympathy along Rimmer's muscles.

Making a quick decision, he switched back to hard light and gently worked the blanket from around Dave. He'd tucked it around himself good and proper, so it took a bit of work for Rimmer to get the end free to slip beneath it. He settled next to Dave, putting an arm around his shoulders to gently tip Dave toward his chest. When Dave's forehead touched his neck, he felt the burning heat from it and frowned. Was it good when a fever ran hot? Did that mean Dave was almost well, or was getting worse? He placed his left hand against Dave's neck, holding his head steady as he shifted Dave's body so it lay against him comfortably. The curly hair tucked into his neck, the dreads draped over his arm, chest pressed against his side, legs tucked up under the blanket – Rimmer was asleep before his arm finished curling protectively over Dave's side.

=-=-=-=

Rimmer hummed appreciatively at the soft stroking along his neck. The movements continued up his jaw and gently urged him to turn his head. He followed willingly, sighing his contentment as lips brushed his. This was his third favorite way to wake up, the first being rather exuberant and the second rather embarrassing. This gentle guidance to wakefulness usually left him with a sense of peace that didn't fade until well into the afternoon. His eyes snapped open as he heard Dave's quiet, "Arnold."

Gone was the glassy fever-gaze of the past few days. Eyes clear and wide stared at him, brimming over with fondness. "Couldn't sleep without me either, eh?"

It wasn't a secret – of all the rows they had, only once had it gone so far as to Rimmer refusing to get in bed with Dave. He'd folded himself onto the couch and tried to sleep, but it was futile. He couldn't even toss and turn properly on the narrow surface. The arms that curled around his chest weren't the right arms and he had no movement at his back to lull him to sleep. To his immense relief, Dave couldn't sleep either and with apologetic murmurings and kisses, they fell asleep in each others arms, in their bed.

Rimmer extracted his left arm from beneath the blanket and stroked Dave's cheek with the back of his hand. The skin was cool to the touch. "You're better, then?" he asked with the faintest tremble in his voice.

The fondness spread to Dave's mouth, which curled up softly. "Better than better. Starving, actually. I was about to get up and call Kryten for brekkie."

Instinctively, Rimmer tightened his arm around Dave's shoulders, not wanting to let him out of the cocoon of warmth they were in. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Dave's fingertip pressed against his lips, stilling his words. He licked the fingertip in apology instead and heat flared briefly in Dave's eyes.

"Food first, then some proper rest in your arms, in our bed. This is nice, but it's a bit cramped," Dave teased.

Rimmer's chest tightened briefly, as it always did when Dave looked at him like that: his eyes just a bit sleepy and a bit naughty. He pulled Dave's hand away from his mouth and leaned forward to press a kiss to Dave's forehead. "Stay there and I'll get you breakfast. What do you want?"

Heat returned to Dave's eyes and Rimmer sent him a stern glare. "Food first, then a proper rest lying in my arms. That's the deal, Lister."

With a wry grin, Lister rattled off a menu that turned Rimmer's stomach, but he uncurled himself from Dave and the couch, and relayed everything to the vending machine. Balancing the tray, he settled back down beside Dave, who flicked the blanket over his legs. Placing the tray on his lap, he alternated feeding Dave mainly so their fingers could get tangled when reaching for the same morsel. Long before the tray was empty of edible foodstuffs, Dave's expression had taken on a very familiar, promising leer.

Heart racing in anticipation, Rimmer tried his best to remain stern. " _Proper rest_. You've only just two hours ago broken your fever. You were sick for days. You shouldn't overexert yourself."

The power of Dave's leer was shattered as a yawn stretched his mouth. "I could do with a nap," he relented.

Rimmer placed the tray on the table and made to get up, but Dave's hand on his arm stopped him. His expression clearly begged, " _Stay_."  

Without a word, Rimmer lay back and put his arm across the back of the couch. Dave immediately curled into his side, hand on his chest, head tucked up to his neck. Rimmer's arm curled around his shoulders and he placed a kiss to the top of Dave's head. "Sleep," he murmured, rubbing his thumb along Dave's arm until he felt the change in Dave's breathing, signaling his descent into sleep.

The End


End file.
